Ophthalmoscopes are instruments used to view the fundus of an eye, and generally comprise a light source and a series of optical elements for directing illuminating light from the source into an eye under examination and imaging optics through which the illuminated fundus is viewed. In an indirect ophthalmoscope, a practitioner (or other user) views a real image of the fundus rather than the fundus itself.
A significant amount of the illuminating light beam is reflected from the cornea of an eye under examination, and it is important that these reflections are not seen by the practitioner/user as they will obscure the view of the fundus under examination. U.S. Pat. No. 3,586,424 shows an ophthalmoscope in which corneal reflexes are blocked by a single stop between an objective and an eye piece lens system of the ophthalmoscope. WO 00/30527 shows an ophthalmoscope in which illuminating light is reflected by a reflector within the ophthalmoscope itself towards the ophthalmoscope's objective lens systems. The lens system focuses the illuminating light to an apex at the cornea of an eye under examination. The reflector and the apex are substantially conjugate with each other so that the reflector acts as a stop for the corneal reflex.
However, despite these stops, both types of ophthalmoscope allow some corneal glare to obscure the viewed image.